Greenpeace has decided to demonstrate outside a number of Apple Stores around the world today. It’s a protest against what the environmental organization is referring to as dirty energy.

With our growing reliance on data centers to power the cloud, the big tech companies have a responsibility to use as much clean and renewable energy as possible. Not only will that reduce the impact such locations have on the environment, it also helps ensure those company’s futures as traditional energy sources continue to rise in cost.

Greenpeace points out that Google, Yahoo!, and even Facebook are either pursuing green energy or already using it in ever greater quantities. Apple, however, is not, according to environmentalists, and Greenpeace believes us, the users are the ones that can force Apple to “Think Differently.”

While Greenpeace admits Apple is investing in solar energy for its North Carolina facilities, it’s a relationship with Duke Energy that has them most concerned. Duke owns and runs many coal-fired power stations and expects Apple to be a major customer. The video above is designed to show that using the Apple iCloud means using coal, but is that a fair representation?

Apple has quite a comprehensive breakdown of its environmental impact at Apple.com. It lists facilities including data centers as accounting for 2% of its total greenhouse gas emissions. The company claims several of its facilities already run on 100% renewable energy and use state-of-the-art, high-efficiency machinery. The North Carolina facility in particular has been awarded the LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

So while Greenpeace may have a point about relying on coal-fired power stations and the growing energy requirements of data centers, I don’t see concrete evidence yet that Apple is the main problem here, although it is certainly a company to watch to ensure it continues to embrace renewable energy.

Thankfully, the extent of the protests today seem to be limited to lots of people dressed in black releasing black balloons inside Apple Stores. That in itself isn’t exactly environmentally friendly, especially if you consider all the helium going to waste.